Can we observe the Feast of Tabernacles at home and must we keep the entire Feast?
The Feast of Tabernacles is unique from all other Feasts. Yahweh commands that we stay in “booths” during this time. Leviticus 23:41-43 reads, “And ye shall keep it a feast unto Yahweh seven days in the year. It shall be a statute for ever in your generations: ye shall celebrate it in the seventh month. Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths: that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am Yahweh your Elohim.”
The word “booth” here comes from the Hebrew sukkah. According to Strong’s, this refers to “a hut or lair.” The Brown Driver & Briggs Hebrew Lexicon defines sukkah as, “a crude or temporary shelter.” Since the booth commemorates Israel’s travels in the wilderness, perhaps the best definition would be a shelter that is temporary.
For this reason, staying in our homes during Tabernacles is not biblically permitted. Instead, we must stay in a temporary shelter. This would include anything from a cabin to a tent, the latter being the closest to Israel’s booths in the wilderness. Even when Israel observed the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem, the Bible records that they built and stayed in booths, Nehemiah 8:14-17.
Another consideration is that Scripture speaks about three pilgrimage Feasts. Exodus 34:22-23 reads, “And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the year’s end. Thrice in the year shall all your men children appear before the Sovereign Yahweh, the Elohim of Israel.”
The Feast of Ingathering here is the same as the Feast of Tabernacles. It was during this time that Israel would bring in the fall crops. Notice that during these three Feasts, Israel was called to appear before Yahweh. Some will debate this by claiming that only the males are mentioned here.
As with any belief, we must consider the totality of evidence. Deuteronomy 16:13-15 shows that this is a family event: “Thou shalt observe the feast of tabernacles seven days, after that thou hast gathered in thy corn and thy wine: And thou shalt rejoice in thy feast, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite, the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are within thy gates. Seven days shalt thou keep a solemn feast unto Yahweh thy Elohim in the place which Yahweh shall choose: because Yahweh thy Elohim shall bless thee in all thine increase, and in all the works of thine hands, therefore thou shalt surely rejoice.”
Yahweh confirms here that the Feast of Tabernacles is a family event and not limited to only the men. This is a time marked with great rejoicing, involving not only the men, but also the women and children. We also see here a command that we are to observe all seven days of this Feast, which answers the question, can we keep only part of the Feast. Israel worshiped every day and so should we.
Another reason why we should come together and not stay at home is that Yahweh in Leviticus 23:35 defines this time as a “holy convocation.” In Hebrew, this phrase refers to a set apart meeting or coming together. This again cannot be done by staying at home.
One of the most significant passages pertaining to the Feast is Zechariah 16:14-19: “And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, Yahweh of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles. And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, Yahweh of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain. And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith Yahweh will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles. This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.”
This is a millennial passage referring to Yahweh’s coming Kingdom. It confirms here that at this time the Feast of Tabernacles will be required for all nations. This includes the family of Egypt. All will be obligated to come up to worship before Yahweh, even those nations afar.
What about those who refuse to come up to observe this time? The Bible says that they will be cursed with no rain. Considering that Scripture indicates that the earth will return to an agrarian culture (Micah 4:4), rain may mean the difference between life and death. The fact that Yahweh will curse those who defer to observe this Feast shows how important it is to Him. It’s also intriguing that this Feast is singled out here. However, the Bible confirms elsewhere that the Sabbath and other Feasts will also be required, Isaiah 66:23; Ezekiel 45:21-25 and 46:1-3.
In summary, the Bible does not permit us staying in our homes during Tabernacles. As believers, we are commanded to observe the entire Feast, not just a few days. This would include not working at our employment, sending our children to school, engaging with family and friends outside the faith, and other mundane activities. These detract from the Feast. This week is dedicated to Yahweh and should be spent focused on Him and the fellowship of others of like-faith. We invite all to join us this year in Holts Summit as we observe this important Feast. For more information, visit https://yrm.org/feast-of-tabernacles.
From where did the practice of wearing the kippah or yarmulke develop?
The Old Testament is silent on the wearing of the kippah or skull cap. It is also nowhere found in the New Testament. “Wearing of a head covering (yarmulka, skullcaps, kippah [pl. kippot]) for men was only instituted in Talmudic times (approximately the second century CE).” The Jewish Virtual Library So if the kippah is absent from the Bible, how was it adopted? The tradition likely goes back to Greek culture. Antiochus Epiphanes, the Seleucid emperor, made it his personal goal to force the Greek culture upon all of his empire, including the Jewish people. This is what motivated the Maccabean revolt and the rise of the Hasmonean Empire. In the year 175 BCE, Jason, of the Oniad family, was appointed high priest. As recoded in 2 Maccabees 4:7-17, he favored the Greek culture and vigorously sought to incorporate Antiochus’ policy of assimilation:
“When Seleucus died and Antiochus, who was called Epiphanes, succeeded to the kingdom, Jason the brother of Onias obtained the high priesthood by corruption, promising the king at an interview three hundred sixty talents of silver, and from another source of revenue eighty talents. In addition to this he promised to pay one hundred fifty more if permission were given to establish by his authority a gymnasium and a body of youth for it, and to enroll the people of Jerusalem as citizens of Antioch. When the king assented and Jason came to office, he at once shifted his compatriots over to the Greek way of life.
“He set aside the existing royal concessions to the Jews, secured through John the father of Eupolemus, who went on the mission to establish friendship and alliance with the Romans; and he destroyed the lawful ways of living and introduced new customs contrary to the law. He took delight in establishing a gymnasium right under the citadel, and he induced the noblest of the young men to wear the Greek hat. There was such an extreme of Hellenization and increase in the adoption of foreign ways because of the surpassing wickedness of Jason, who was unholy and no true high priest, that the priests were no longer intent upon their service at the altar. Despising the sanctuary and neglecting the sacrifices, they hurried to take part in the unlawful proceedings in the wrestling arena after the signal for the discus-throwing, disdaining the honors prized by their ancestors and putting the highest value upon Greek forms of prestige. For this reason heavy disaster overtook them, and those whose ways of living they admired and wished to imitate completely became their enemies and punished them. It is no light thing to show irreverence to the divine laws—a fact that later events will make clear.”
As seen from the above excerpt, Jason made several radical reforms to the Jewish culture in an attempt to promote Antiochus’ policies of integration into the Greek culture. In his fervor to adopt the Hellenistic culture, he even changed his own name from Yahshua (possibly, Yeshua) to the more Grecized “Jason” (Josephus, Jewish Antiquities, book 12, chapter 5, p. 239).
In addition to neglecting the sacrificial offerings and establishing a gymnasium, he also introduced the “Greek hat.” There is general agreement that this hat refers to the hat of Hermes (a.k.a. Roman deity Mercury). Ancient depictions of the hat of Hermes are very similar to the modern kippah. The only notable difference was that the hat of Hermes often had wings on each side.
Whether this was the exact time that the Jews adopted the wearing of the kippah, there is little doubt that the kippah or skull cap arose through the adoption of the Hellenistic culture. Except for the High Priest’s turban, there is no command in the Old Testament to wear a skull cap. The only possible connection between the kippah and Old Testament is where Yahweh commanded Israel not to round the corners of the head in Leviticus 19:27.
In reference to this command, Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary states, “It seems probable that this fashion had been learned by the Israelites in Egypt, for the ancient Egyptians had their dark locks cropped short or shaved with great nicety, so that what remained on the crown appeared in the form of a circle surrounding the head.” Interestingly, most kippahs are designed with this same circle design.
Besides its absence in the Torah, nothing is said about men’s headcoverings in the New Testament, except for Paul’s statement in 1Corinthians 11:7, “For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of Elohim.” If Yahweh commanded that men wear a kippah, why does Paul specifically command the opposite? The reason is obvious, the kippah is not rooted in Scripture, but in Greek culture.
As believers we must avoid wearing kippahs or following any man-made, heathen practice not ordained in Scripture. Our Heavenly Father has a disdain for synchronizing with pagan beliefs. Writing to Israel in Deuteronomy 12:30-31, He says, “Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them, after that they be destroyed from before thee; and that thou enquire not after their mighty ones, saying, How did these nations serve their mighty ones? even so will I do likewise. Thou shalt not do so unto Yahweh thy Elohim: for every abomination to Yahweh, which he hateth, have they done unto their mighty ones; for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their mighty ones.”
The old adage that “troubles always come in threes” is uncannily accurate it seems. If, in the space of a few days, our car’s battery goes belly-up and the toilet gets clogged, it’s a sure bet that the cat will get sick, the honeybees will swarm, or a calf will wiggle through the fence and end up running down the road. These problems, although not life-threatening, can wear us down and have a significant impact upon our mental, emotional, and even our spiritual health.
In a similar manner, our national health is also subject to fatigue from the onslaught of a variety of moral and ethical problems. A cultural divide, an earthquake-sized crack in the unity of our nation, and all of humanity, is daily widening, further separating those on either side of the division. Our national political, moral and religious conflicts, it seems, are rooted in and growing out of three major arenas: wealth/power (greed/war), illicit sex (promiscuity/homosexuality) and infant sacrifice (abortion).
If you think all of these controversies and conflicts are new, think again. These troubles have plagued mankind since the beginning of civilization. When the ancient Israelites first entered the Promised Land, they found the native Canaanites worshiping three major deities: Baal, Astarte and Moloch.
Baal, who was known as “Prince, Lord of the Earth,” was the overseer of all things relating to commerce, wealth and power. As the supreme god, it was he who controlled the sun, storms, and agriculture. His lightning bolt defeated enemies as well as produced crops and children. As such, Baal worship was rooted in sensuality and war and often required human sacrifice. Yahshua called Satan “Beelzebub,” linking the devil to Baal (Matthew 12:27).
Astarte, the Hellenized form of the Middle Eastern goddess, Ishtar (pronounced Easter), was the goddess of fertility and sexuality. Also known as the Queen of Heaven, the worship of Astarte included ritual prostitution. The female and male shrine prostitutes, known as temple holy ones, were highly respected in their roles of performing these “sacred” acts, which also included homosexuality. Astarte, called Ashtorah in the Hebrew scriptures, was referred to as the consort of Baal or, in other regions, she was designated as the consort of Moloch, the most gruesome of the triad.
Moloch, whose name is interpreted in Hebrew as “the personified ruler of shameful sacrifice,” included sexual rituals along with child sacrifice. Moloch was usually portrayed in the form of a giant metal statue of a man with a bull’s head. The statue had outstretched arms that served as a ramp to a hole in the abdomen. A fire was lighted in and around the statue and firstborn babies were placed on the outstretched arms or directly in the hole to agonizingly burn to death. Drums were played during the spectacle to drown out the screams of the child. This sacrifice was to ensure financial prosperity and future children for the family.
The worship of these ancient deities is alive and well in modern society today. The economy, sex, and war make up the larger part of the headlines in the media. The illegal or obsessive accumulation of wealth, the rising crime rate, the promotion of promiscuity, the addiction to pornography and the approximately 3,000 abortions performed each day in our nation speak volumes on the spiritual decay within. Just as the roles of Baal, Astarte and Moloch were dependent upon and intertwined together in a circle of greed, carnality, and death, so do we see this played out each and every day in the virtual and the real world. “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun”, Ecclesiastes 1:9.
The first commandment given to mankind was, “I am Yahweh your Elohim, who brought youout of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other elohim before me.”Exodus 20: 2-3. He brought us out of slavery to sin and told us not to worship other mighty ones. Each day we do battle against forces we can neither see nor completely understand, and it is only through seeking Him and His will that we can overcome the desires that will lead to eternal death. “Whatever is has already been before; and Yahweh will call the past to account.” Ecclesiastes 3:15.
In 2016 Yahweh’s Restoration Ministry traveled to Israel and filmed interesting programs in some of the most intriguing and amazing biblical sites in the Holy Land. Keep coming back as we add more videos as we edit them.
Is the Trinity doctrine in the Bible? Why do Christians believe in a Trinity? Lets take a clear and unbiased look at the Bible and Christian history. The Pagan Trinity Exposed.
The word “Trinity” and its concept is absent from the Old and New testaments.
The notion of the Trinity is not new, but goes back to the start of civilization.
The Trinity doctrine was not firmly established until over 300 years after the Messiah.
The codification of the Trinity was motivated from political pressure.
The Father is greater and superior to the Son.
The Holy Spirit represents the power of the Father, not a third of a Trinity.
The Father and Son are not one in being, but one in mind and goal
While the Messiah is not eternal, He preexisted as the active Word, i.e., logos.
As mankind ponders the nature of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, it’s important that we study and confirm the truth behind this crucial subject. This begins by letting go of preconceived thoughts and biases and acknowledging the pages of Scripture as the sole source of authority. Only through a forthright look at the Word can we decipher and break through 2,000 years of man’s tradition.
Where is the real temple mount location in Jerusalem where Solomon originally build the first temple and where the Tabernacle was located? Was the temple located on the Haram Al-Sharif under the Dome of the Rock? Where is the real temple mount? Is the temple located in the City of David? Does the Gihon Spring give us a cue to it’s location? What about the excavated area known as the Millo (fill), does this give us a clue? What about Fortress Antonia? Where did the tenth Roman legion of 10,000 soldiers live? Does the writings of Josephus help us on our quest? Is the model located in the Israel Museum even close to accurate or was Fort (Fortress) Antonia actually located on the Harem Al-Sharif? Don takes us on a visual tour from the Mount of Olives and discusses the evidence for the real temple location that was first popularized by Dr. Ernest Martin. As Bible prophecy comes alive, the key to the Temple location is incredibly important to building a final temple. Join Pastor Randy Folliard and Elder Don Esposito on this fascinating video tour of the real temple mount.
Also, watch Pastor Randy’s two-part sermon delivered live during the 2017 Feast of Tabernacles examining the evidence for the temple being located within the city of David and not on today’s traditional Temple Mount.
Is the “night to be much observed” a separate observance from the Passover memorial and Feast of Unleavened Bread?
The “night to be much observed” is not a separate Feast, but part of the Passover. Yahweh in Exodus 12:42 states, “It is a night to be much observed unto Yahweh for bringing them out from the land of Egypt: this is that night of Yahweh to be observed of all the children of Israel in their generations.” As we see here, Yahweh is simply referring to the Passover. Verse 43 confirms, “And Yahweh said unto Moses and Aaron, This is the ordinance of the passover: There shall no stranger eat thereof:” The phrase “night to be observed” is simply a reminder to the importance of the Passover memorial and does not designate a separate observance.
You claim that it took all day for the Israelites to leave Egypt. How is this possible when the Bible states that they were to leave in haste?
The fact that it took the entire daylight portion of the day for the Israelites to plunder the Egyptians and leave Egypt is not hard to understand when you consider that the group likely numbered over 3+ million (below is what we know along with a few assumptions).
600,000 (footmen, Num. 11:21) 3,000,000 (assuming wife and 4 children per footman) 50,000 (assuming number of mixed multitude) ————————– 3,650,000 (total)
If anything, this number is probably conservative. It’s also important to remember that this exodus included children and the elderly along with their livestock and flocks. This is larger than the city of Los Angeles. How long would it logistically require, even if they made preparation the night before, for the population of a Los Angeles to evacuate the city? This would require more than 2-3 hours, it would take the entire day and then some for a group of this size to evacuate.
Keeping Yahweh’s Feast Days Yahweh specifically commanded Israel and all His people today to keep seven Feasts to Him throughout the year. These seven Feasts were in addition to the weekly Sabbath.
The purpose of the Feasts was to keep Yahweh always in the minds and hearts of His people so that they can align with Him. Observing the Feasts also brought people together as a family and helped unite them as a nation under Yahweh. The Feasts lay out the plan of salvation and show prophetically where we are in that plan today.
With all that the Feasts embody, and as central as they are in scriptural law, it is nothing short of stunning that they have been completely disregarded and ignored by churchianity for 2,000 years! Most churchgoers would never deliberately go break the Ten Commandments. Yet the Feasts, which were also commanded at Sinai along with the Commandments, have all been deliberately broken for millennia by denominational worship claiming an otherwise dedicated faith.
Feast Days : Key to the Future
It is as much a sin to break the Feast commands as it is to break the Ten Commandments. Each violates Yahweh’s law. The only defense is ignorance. But once you know you are then responsible to make them a key part of your life or else stand guilty of lawbreaking. “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin,” James 4:17.
It is time we learned more about Yahweh’s sacred Feasts. In addition to the Feast of Tabernacles, two other convocations are also known as “Pilgrim Feasts.” These are the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the Feast of Weeks.
We are expected to leave our homes and travel to attend these “appointed times” (Hebrew moed, moedim, plural). These three Feasts depict our journey through life as pilgrims and travelers seeking a better country, the city Yahweh has prepared for us (Heb. 11:16).
We aspire to the Kingdom of Yahweh, which will come to this earth. His Feasts help us understand that future Kingdom and how it will be administered.
These three great Feasts celebrated the three times fruits of the earth were gathered; the barley harvest at Unleavened Bread; the wheat harvest at Pentecost, and the oil, honey, and grapes at Tabernacles.
Just as Israel tabernacled in the wilderness, Yahshua the Messiah “tabernacles” with His people today. This is one of the many lessons we learn from the Feast of Tabernacles and other Feasts observed by True Worshipers.
The Feasts are also reminders of Israel’s historical events. Passover in the first month of the year (March or April) memorializes the deliverance of Israel from Egyptian bondage. Fifty days later Pentecost marks the ratifying of the Law (making a Covenant) at Sinai.
Tabernacles and the Wilderness
Tabernacles on the fifteenth day of the seventh month commemorates Israel’s establishment in the Land of Promise. Now they were home and finally at peace under King Solomon. After 40 years of wandering in the wilderness they at last possessed the land.
Tabernacles was a thankful and a holy remembrance of past wanderings in temporary dwellings. At that time Israel took boughs of palm and willows of the brook and made temporary huts. They sat under these succoth just as did Joshua when settling the land: “And all the congregation of them that were come again out of the captivity made booths, and sat under the booths: for since the days of Joshua the son of Nun unto that day had not the children of Israel done so. And there was very great gladness” (Neh. 8:17).
During the time of Solomon (Heb. “king of peace”), Israel was at home and enjoyed peace and quiet throughout the land of Judea. “And Judah and Israel lived safely, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon” (1Kings 4:25).
Tabernacles and the Ark
The last vestige of wilderness life ended when the Ark of the Covenant was taken from the portable tent and placed in the magnificent Temple of stone in the seventh month. The event was further celebrated by observing the Feast of Tabernacles on the fifteenth day of the seventh month: “Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel, unto Jerusalem, to bring up the Ark of the Covenant of Yahweh out of the city of David, which [is] Zion. Wherefore all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto the king in the feast which was in the seventh month. And all the elders of Israel came; and the Levites took up the ark” (2Chron. 5:24).
Finally, on the 23rd of the seventh month, Solomon sent the great congregation away, glad in heart for the goodness Yahweh had showed to David, Solomon, and His people Israel. Home at last! The Ark of the Covenant was now in the security of its Temple home. It was a wonderful event to associate with the Feast of Tabernacles. Take note, it was at the beginning of the seventh month after their return from Babylonian captivity that the Jews gathered under Ezra and Nehemiah.
Nehemiah 8:23 says, “And Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation both of men and women, and all that could hear with understanding, upon the first day of the seventh month. And he read therein before the street that [was] before the water gate from the morning until midday, before the men and the women, and those that could understand; and the ears of all the people [were attentive] unto the book of the law.”
The returned captives were gathered in Jerusalem the second day of the seventh month to listen to Ezra the priest read from the book of the law. In it they learned that there was a convocation to be observed on the fifteenth of this seventh month: “And they found written in the law which Yahweh had commanded by Moses, that the children of Israel should dwell in booths in the feast of the seventh month: And that they should publish and proclaim in all their cities, and in Jerusalem saying, Go forth unto the mount, and fetch olive branches, and pine branches, and myrtle branches, and palm branches, and branches of thick trees, to make booths, as it is written” (Neh. 8:14:15). “Also day by day, from the first day unto the last day, he read in the book of the law of Elohim. And they kept the feast seven days; and on the eighth day [was] a solemn assembly, according unto the manner” (Neh. 8:18).
Just as the returning captives were unaware of the Feast of Tabernacles, many of our readers are unfamiliar with Yahweh’s Feast of Tabernacles. As soon as the Jews learned that they were expected to keep the Feast, they urged those in all their cities to prepare for the full eight days of the Feast.
Spiritual Meaning of the Feast Days
The Passover points to Yahshua as the true Passover Lamb Who was sacrificed for the sins of the world. Because we believe in the atoning work of His sacrifice, we are to keep the feast of Unleavened Bread: “Purge out therefore the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, as you are unleavened. For even Messiah our Passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened [bread] of sincerity and truth” (1Cor. 5:7-8).
• Pentecost (Feast of Weeks) is a memorial of the giving of the Law at Sinai, and the descent of the Holy Spirit to enable us to keep the Law. Having the Law written on our hearts is more effectual than having it written on stone. His law within us guides us day by day and we make His law come alive as we obey and follow it day by day: “Forasmuch as you are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Messiah ministered by us, written not with ink, but with Spirit of the living Elohim; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart” (2Cor. 3:3).
• The day of Trumpets is announced by the thin crescent moon just after sunset, which ends the sixth and begins the seventh month, in our September or October. It is the beginning of the civil year in Judaism. However, the month of Abib in spring is Yahweh’s beginning of His religious year, usually March or April. The day of Trumpets calls our attention to the beginning of Yahweh’s seventh month. The sounding of the trumpet traditionally warned of an alarm, war or danger such as we find in Zephaniah: “A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers” (Zeph. 1:16). Trumpets is to prepare us for the return of the Messiah and His setting up the Kingdom. We keep our mind on heavenly things, being alert to signs of His return.
• Ten days after the day of Trumpets comes the day of Atonement. It is known in rabbinical writings as the holiest day of the year. From the day of Trumpets to Atonement is a time of deep introspection and self-appraisal.
It was the time when the High Priest emerged from the Holy of Holies to the people’s shouts of joy, knowing their sacrifice was acceptable. Atonement marks the day our High Priest Yahshua comes out from the heavenly Holy of Holies to assure us His atoning sacrifice for our sins was acceptable to the Heavenly Father.
You Shall Rejoice During the Feast Days!
There is much rejoicing at the Feast of Tabernacles, which starts on the biblical 15th of the seventh month, with the celebration ending with the Last Great Day on the 22nd (Oct. 10-17, 2014). “The voice of rejoicing and salvation [is] in the tabernacles of the righteous: the right hand of Yahweh does valiantly” (Ps. 118:15).
The Jews of the captivity had not kept Tabernacles in their exile, but were now excited over the command to observe it: “And all the congregation of them that were come again out of the captivity made booths, and sat under the booths: for since the days of Yahshua the son of Nun unto that day had not the children of Israel done so. And there was very great gladness” (Neh. 8:17).
Those Yahweh is calling out of this world to keep His Feast of Tabernacles and the Feasts of the seventh month should make every effort to do so. If Yahweh’s Spirit has sparked an interest in your heart to start keeping His Feasts, do not quench that desire. The entire family is expected to keep and enjoy the Feasts together. Once you do you will never go back to the superficial, empty, and pointless holidays of the world.
The Bible also speaks of a second tithe that we set aside throughout the year so that we have the means to keep the Feasts. This second tithe is to assure Yahweh’s people that if they are diligent they can enjoy the Feasts to the fullest. It is retained by the individual at home and is often called “the Festival Tithe.”
“You may not eat within your gates the tithe of your com, or of your wine, or of your oil, or the first-lings of your herds or of your flock, nor any of your vows which you vow, nor your freewill offerings, or heave offering of your hand: But you must eat them before Yahweh your Elohim in the place which Yahweh your Elohim shall choose, you, and your son, and your daughter, and your manservant, and your maidservant, and the Levite that [is] within your gates: and you shall rejoice before Yahweh your Elohim in all that you put your hands unto” (Deut. 12:17-19).
Of the three annual Sabbath celebrations known as “Pilgrim Feasts,” the Feast of Tabernacles still awaits complete spiritual fulfillment.
A Deeply Moving Time
Those who start attending Feasts of Tabernacles clearly remember their first time. Some newcomers arrive not fully knowing what to expect. But soon the experienced Feastgoers help their new neighbors get settled and ready for the eight wonderful days of fellowship, messages, and Bible studies. Friendships come easy as the brethren unite in purpose and goal, as Israel did.
Having once attended a Feast, one looks with great anticipation to the next one. It soon becomes a family reunion as spiritual brothers and sisters gather as Yahweh’s obedient to worship Him and study His Word.
The word feast is from the Hebrew moed, meaning appointment, a fixed time or season, specifically a festival. The sense or meaning is that these special times have been ordained by Yahweh and set aside for His worship.
Another word translated feast is chag (Strong’s No. 2282), meaning a festival and is from chagag meaning to celebrate, dance, keep or hold a feast and holiday. Chag is a joyful time.
We are reminded of Yahweh’s admonition as we at-tend these annual feast days, “And you shall rejoice before Yahweh your Elohim, you, and your son, and your daughter, and your manservant, and your maidservant, and the Levite that [is] within your gates, and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are among you, in the place which Yahweh your Elohim has chosen to place his name there” (Deut. 16:11).
We come to the Feast days with great expectations, with the intent and attitude that above all we are going to enjoy Yahweh’s special times. We look forward to the good things of this life, yet with a greater anticipation of better things and joys to come. Gathering with others of like faith, the anticipation is strengthened as it is built on better and better memories. Join Us for the Feast Days!
Feasts of Yahweh are primarily centered on learning more of Him. Great fellowship, food and fun are an added benefit. The Feasts are an appointment we make with Yahweh. We meet where His Name is placed. Yahweh is the One Who reveals His Name to His people and places it in the hearts and minds of His people.
We are to gather in convocation as a body to worship Him and fellowship with others of like mind and heart. Staying at home alone in a backyard tent does not satisfy Yahweh’s command. We are expected to join with others wherever He places His Name and observe all the Feast Days, Deuteronomy 14:23.
Yahweh’s Restoration Ministry keep the Feast Days at our facilities. We do so for several reasons. First, we are commanded to “come out” and keep a Feast, just as Israel had to leave Egypt to keep a Feast to Yahweh “in the wilderness,” Exodus 5:1. Camping is inexpensive and we urge all to stay at the facility where families can enjoy the Feast days to the utmost. (Contact us for more information.)
We Seek Another Kingdom
We are thankful that Yahweh has shown us His Name that we may call upon Him as our Father. He has shown us His Feast Days and Sabbaths that we might be sanctified (set apart) and that we might know Him through His days set apart: “Moreover also I gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I [am] Yahweh that sanctify them” (Ezek. 20:12).
We are but sojourners on this earth, seeking the coming Kingdom of Yahweh. All those of good will are invited to join us in observing the Feast Days. We hope that this year will be your year.
Q. Are you part of Herbert Armstrong’s old Worldwide Church of God? You seem to teach many of the same truths of Scripture.
A. No, but our origins are parallel. Clarence O. Dodd is considered by many as the founder of today’s Sacred Name movement.
According to historian Richard Nickels, “Both Armstrong and Dodd were ministers of the Church of God, Seventh Day (Salem, W. Va.) group, one of the factions of the Church of God, Seventh Day. They began their respective movements at about the same time (1934-1937).
“At the outset both Armstrong and Dodd became independent mainly over the issue of the Feast Days of Leviticus 23. They both believed these days should be kept today, while the majority of Church of God, Seventh Day disagreed. Dodd later came to believe in the ‘Sacred Name’ doctrine, which means a belief in the exclusive use of the Hebrew names for the Supreme Being (Yahweh and Yahshua the Messiah).
“Dodd did not originate the Sacred Name doctrine. Its exact origin appears to be long before his time. However, Dodd crystalized the movement, making it a major force among Sabbath (Saturday) keeping organizations. His Faith magazine began in 1937, and continues to use the name Assembly of Yahweh…”
In 1968 Dodd and A.N. Dugger wrote the book, A History of The True Religion. They recount that a meeting to reorganize the Church of God, Seventh Day, was set for November 4, 1933, and some ten thousand were invited to Salem, W.Virginia. Names were drawn by lot for the Twelve, and then for drawing of the Seventy. Included among the Seventy were Dodd and Herbert W. Armstrong.
The Faith magazine began as an organ to promote the keeping of the Feast Days, but when learning the truth of the Sacred Name, Elder Dodd immediately restored the names Yahweh and Yahshua to all writings in his magazine.
An October 1939 issue included a report of the Feast of Tabernacles in Eugene, Oregon, held by “Elder H.W. Armstrong, a pioneer in this great truth.” Elder Angelo B. Traina restored the Sacred Names to the King James Bible. Both Elders Dodd and Traina are remembered for their efforts in restoring the correct Names and teaching Bible truth.
Herbert Armstrong and his Worldwide Church of God chose to keep the generic titles for Yahweh’s Name as well as the Latinized-Greek form for the Savior’s true Hebrew Name Yahshua.
Can we observe the Feast of Tabernacles at home and must we keep the entire Feast?
The Feast of Tabernacles is unique from all other Feasts. Yahweh commands that we stay in “booths” during this time. Leviticus 23:41-43 reads, “And ye shall keep it a feast unto Yahweh seven days in the year. It shall be a statute for ever in your generations: ye shall celebrate it in the seventh month. Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths: that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am Yahweh your Elohim.”
“He set aside the existing royal concessions to the Jews, secured through John the father of Eupolemus, who went on the mission to establish friendship and alliance with the Romans; and he destroyed the lawful ways of living and introduced new customs contrary to the law. He took delight in establishing a gymnasium right under the citadel, and he induced the noblest of the young men to wear the Greek hat. There was such an extreme of Hellenization and increase in the adoption of foreign ways because of the surpassing wickedness of Jason, who was unholy and no true high priest, that the priests were no longer intent upon their service at the altar. Despising the sanctuary and neglecting the sacrifices, they hurried to take part in the unlawful proceedings in the wrestling arena after the signal for the discus-throwing, disdaining the honors prized by their ancestors and putting the highest value upon Greek forms of prestige. For this reason heavy disaster overtook them, and those whose ways of living they admired and wished to imitate completely became their enemies and punished them. It is no light thing to show irreverence to the divine laws—a fact that later events will make clear.”
In reference to this command, Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary states, “It seems probable that this fashion had been learned by the Israelites in Egypt, for the ancient Egyptians had their dark locks cropped short or shaved with great nicety, so that what remained on the crown appeared in the form of a circle surrounding the head.” Interestingly, most kippahs are designed with this same circle design.
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